Pātea Māori Club
In 1983, the group began to release Māori-language pop and hip hop music, produced by Dalvanius Prime with lyrics by Ngoi Pēwhairangi.
The group released further singles, such as "Aku Raukura", "Hei Konei Rā (Farewell)", and "E Papa", and toured the United Kingdom in 1984 and 1985.
Prime had plans for a musical adaptation of "Poi E" and a separate children's animated film, however the death of Pēwhairangi in 1985 slowed progress for these projects.
The group voted to remove the word Methodist from their name, due to the large number of non-Methodist members,[13] and by the early 1980s were known as the South Taranaki Māori Club.
[7] He returned to New Zealand in 1979 to see his mother as she died, and was confronted about his lack of knowledge of te reo Māori, when he was unable to understand the final words she spoke in the last days of her life.
[16] In 1980, Dalvanius toured with his sister Barletta, performing at marae across the country, and in 1982 took an intensive Māori language course at the Wellington Polytechnic.
[7] After issuing a challenge to Dalvanius, asking him how he would make younger generations be proud of being Māori, he began to collaborate with her musically, and in a single day wrote "Poi E", "Aku Raukura" and "Hei Konei Rā".
[2] Dalvanius created a funky rhythmic backing track, using bass, LinnDrums and a synthesiser,[23] which Pēwhairangi did not like, believing that this might upset many members of the Māori community due to its modern sound.
[32] The group toured internationally in 1984 and 1985, performing at the London Palladium and the Edinburgh Festival, as well as appearances on British morning television programmes and Blue Peter.
[6][26] The group performed at the Midem music fair in Cannes, France, and in the United States as a part of the Te Maori exhibition, and a concert in New York where they were the supporting act for the Violent Femmes.
[35][9] The group returned to the United Kingdom for a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Princess Anne in July 1985.
[26][36] At the end of the year, the club released the single "E Papa", a traditional song used in tītī tōrea stick games,[29][37] followed by "Ka Huri" in 1986.
For the World Expo 88 held in Brisbane, the group recorded a rearranged bilingual version of "God Defend New Zealand" alongside Annie Crummer and Peter Morgan, which was later used by TVNZ as a transmission opening clip from 1991 to 1992.
[14] There are two associated competitive kapa haka groups involving members but separate from the club, Aotea Utanganui and Taranaki ki te Tonga Taikura.
